Ford continues to surprise. First, it called-off the formation of a joint venture with Mahindra. And now, it has introduced the 2021 EcoSport range. If you think the latter isn’t surprising at all, allow us to explain. In December last year, Ford joined the long list of carmakers who announced a price hike for their offerings from January 2021. The 2021 EcoSport has actually gotten more affordable. Here, check out the price list:

As you can see, prices of the sub-4 metre SUV have dropped by up to Rs 39,000. Except for two derivatives, the entry-level diesel and Titanium petrol, all others have seen a price reduction. Now, there have been some changes to the list of features. Excluding the Ambiente trim, all others have gained a map pocket in the front passenger seatback. The Titanium, Titanium+ and Sports iterations now come with a locking wheel nut for the alloy spare wheel. Another essential addition comes in the Titanium trim. It gets one of the most sought-after features – an electric sunroof.

Weirdly, however, Ford has deleted a couple of features as well. The Trend and Titanium derivatives no longer come with a map pocket in the driver’s seatback. Also, the Titanium trim loses cruise control. The rest of the features list remains unaltered. That means you can have the EcoSport with stuff like six airbags, traction control system, auto headlamps and wipers, push-button start/stop, SYNC 3 with voice recognition, support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, tyre pressure monitoring system and LED DRLs.

Thankfully, there’s no change in the mechanical department. Customers can still purchase the EcoSport with a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine or a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel. The former pumps out 121bhp/149Nm, whereas the latter produces 99bhp/215Nm. Both powerplants come coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission as standard. Those who want the convenience of an automatic will have to opt for the sole petrol-powered variant.

Ford says that the Titanium+ variant will soon make way for “an exciting update”. Over the years, the EcoSport has gained a lot of direct rivals. The list covers Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Mahindra XUV300, Nissan Magnite, Honda WR-V, Toyota Urban Cruiser and the Tata Nexon. Later in 2021, we’ll have Renault joining the party with the Kiger.